It appears that the Philadelphia 76ers are re-thinking their stance about bringing back franchise icon Allen Iverson.

After first reporting Iverson's intention to retire earlier this week, longtime Iverson confidant Stephen A. Smith reported early Saturday that the Sixers, according to team sources, were giving deep consideration to making Iverson an offer.

"It's being seriously considered," one team official told Smith in an article for FoxSports.com.

A team official told ESPN.com on Friday that the Sixers did not intend to pursue Iverson in the wake of a broken jaw that has sidelined starting guard Lou Williams for eight weeks, preferring to give Williams' minutes to rookie Jrue Holiday.

According to Smith's latest report, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan is one of several key figures in the organization who supports Iverson's return.

Smith quoted the unnamed team official as saying: "We know the history. We know the ups and downs. But we're also aware of what [Iverson] can do and that he's needed here. We simply can't just ignore the upside he'd bring. Not with our situation."

If the Sixers decide to go ahead with an offer nearly three years after trading Iverson to Denver in December 2006, it's believed that their interest would be based as much on the buzz such a move could generate as any potential on-court boost.

The Sixers entered Friday's play ranked second-to-last in the league in average per-game attendance (11,820 fans) and last in terms of filling their arena to capacity. The Wachovia Center has been filled to only 58.2 percent of capacity so far this season; Memphis' per-game average of 11,387 fans represents 62.8 percent of capacity at FedEx Forum.

In the FoxSports.com story, Smith reported that Jordan could fly to Atlanta to meet with Iverson on Tuesday after the Sixers complete a Sunday/Monday back-to-back in San Antonio and Dallas. According to the report, Tuesday is also when Iverson is scheduled to meet with his former Georgetown coach John Thompson, who responded to Iverson's retirement announced Wednesday by telling ESPN Radio 980 in Washington, D.C., that he intended to try to talk Iverson out of retirement.

Smith also quoted a Sixers source as saying: "... Let's face it. We're very, very boring right now. We have absolutely nothing to lose by bringing Iverson back. Nothing at all."

The Sixers are almost $6.6 million under this season's luxury-tax threshold, so they can afford to sign Iverson for the rest of the season without any serious financial consequences.

Iverson became a free agent earlier this month when he and the Memphis Grizzlies agreed to a mutual parting after the 34-year-old played in just three games. Iverson averaged 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per games in his short Memphis stay after missing most of training camp with a partially torn hamstring.

ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein contributed to this report.